Front opening dishwasher with improved rack arrangement



M. R. KAUFFMAN FRONT OPENING DISHWASHER WITH IMPROVED RACK ARRANGEMENT 5Sheets-Sheet 1 H \S ATTORNEY Aug. 25, 1964 Filed Nov. 13, 1962 Aug. 25,1964 M. R. KAUFFMAN 3,146,045

FRONT OPENING DISHWASHER WITH IMPROVED RACK ARRANGEMENT Filed Nov 15,1962 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG.Z

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INVENTOR. M R. KAUFFMAN BY M H \S ATTORNEY Aug. 25, 1964 M. R- KAUFFMANFRONT OPENING DISHWASHER WITH IMPROVED RACK ARRANGEMENT 3 Sheets-Sheet 3Filed Nov. 13, 1962 N RA w WW u N R 1K W W R.

m w m E M United States Patent 3,146,045 FRONT OPENING DISHWASHER WITHIMPROVED RACK i: NGEMENT Melvin R. Kautfrnan, Louisville, Ky., assignorto General Electric Company, a corporation of New York Filed Nov. 13,1962, Ser. No. 237,185 7 Claims. (Cl. 312229) The present inventionrelates to dishwashing machines of the type having a front opening withracks which move out horizontally through that opening, and moreparticularly to a rack formation which provides optimum effectivenessfor such machines.

Dishwashing machines often have a washing enclosure with its accessopening at the front thereof; such machines are provided with a door,hinged at the bottom, pivotable from a vertical to a horizontal positionfor access to the interior of the machine. In such machines, there aregenerally two vertically spaced racks for receiving the articles to bewashed, each of these racks being movable horizontally out of the accessopening over the open door. It is conventional to form the bottom rackto receive larger dishes and the top rack to receive smaller dishes andglasses. While this approach has substantial advantages, it also has thedisadvantage that, when a mixed load of dishes is to be inserted in thedishwasher, the operator will have to move the top rack in and outcontinuously. This results from the fact that each time a large dish isto be inserted into the lower rack, the upper rack must be moved back togain access to the lower rack, while each time a glass or a small dishis to be positioned for washing the upper rack must then be pulled backout again.

It is therefore an object of my invention to provide a washing machineof the type having a front access opening in which a rack assemblyincludes two normally superimposed racks which are movable to a secondrelationship wherein the bottom rack is readily accessible.

More specifically, it is an object of my invention to achieve this goalby causing the top rack to be provided in two separable parts, at leastone of which is mounted by links on the bottom rack, so that it may bemoved to a position where it does not interfere with loading andunloading of articles onto the bottom rack.

In one aspect of my invention I provide a dishwasher which includes awashing enclosure having an access opening formed at the front thereof.The opening may be closed by a closure member piVOtable about its loweredge. When the closure member is in a substantially vertical position,it seals the access opening; when it is in a substantially horizontalposition, it provides ready access through the opening to the interiorof the washing enclosure.

In the enclosure there is positioned a rack assembly for supportingarticles to be washed. This assembly may be moved substantiallyhorizontally out through the access opening. It includes a lower rackhaving two sides, a front, and a back which form together asubstantially horizontal rectangle. Over the lower rack a pair of upperrack sections are positioned adjacent each other so as to formessentially one complete upper rack. At least one of the upper racksections is secured to the lower rack by linkage means which pivotallysecures it in one of two positions. In one of the positions, the upperrack sections are positioned directly over the lower rack and adjacenteach other, as mentioned above. This position is suitable for use of therack assembly within the en closure. In the other of the positions, theupper rack sections have their near sides remote from each other so thatthey are spaced apart over the lower rack. This makes the lower rackaccessible between the two upper rack sections so that it may be readilybe loaded and un- 3,146,045 Patented Aug. 25, 1964 loaded at the sametime that the upper rack sections are also accessible for such loadingand unloading.

The subject matter which I regard as my invention is particularlypointed out and distinctly claimed in the concluding portion of thisspecification. The invention, however, together with further objects andadvantages thereof, may best be understood by reference to the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings, FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view, partly broken awayand partly in cross section, of a dishwashing machine incorporating myinvention;

FIGURE 2 is a front elevational view of the machine of FIGURE 1 with itsdoor open;

FIGURE 3 is a second front elevational view of the machine showing therack assembly thereof in loading position; and

FIGURE 4 is a side elevational view, partly broken away and partly incross section, of a dishwasher incorporating a second embodiment of myinvention.

Referring now to FIGURE 1 of the drawings, there is shown a dishwasher,generally indicated by the numeral 1, of the type wherein a cabinet 2 isprovided, the cabinet including a stationary back 3, side walls 4 and 5,and a top portion 6. The back, top, and side walls, together with afront door section 7, form a generally rectangular enclosure or tub 8within which is positioned a rack assembly 9 to be further hereinafterdescribed, and which is used for the purpose of receiving and holdingvarious dishes to be washed.

In order to gain access to the enclosure, the door section 7 is graspedby an upper handle portion 10 and pivoted downwardly about pivotmembers, such as that shown at 10a, until it lies substantiallyhorizontally as shown in dotted outline. Rack assembly 9 is providedwith rollers 11 at the bottom thereof and at each side so that theassembly 9 is movable horizontally out through the opening 12 (normallyclosed by door 7) by movement of rollers 11 along tracks 13. When thedoor is open in its horizontal position it forms a guide, so that whenthe rack assembly is rolled out it will roll forward on the door whichthus constitutes an extension of track 13. In this manner, rack assembly9 may be moved horizontally out through opening 12 until the entireassembly is out of the tub 8.

The dishwasher will normally include suitable washing means; these areshown in the form of a rotatable water ejecting member 14, positionedwithin tub 2 beneath rack assembly 9 and having a number of outlets suchas those shown at 15 so as to eject upwardly streams of liquid duringoperation of the dishwasher. It has been found that, for best results,member 14 may further be provided with an upwardly extending portion 16located substantially centrally of tub 8 and of washing member 14, andextending upwardly a substantial distance from the member 14. Member 16ejects water into the upper part of tub 8 by virtue of its telescopingportion 17 which moves up to an operative position when under theinfluence of water pressure, and also provides sprays of water so as toaid the washing eifect provided by the lower rotatable member 14. Bothfor member 14 and for member 16 the intent is that water be ejected fromthem against the dishes and other utensils in the rack assembly withconsiderable force so as to eifect cleansing of the articles. Withrespect to member 16 with telesscoping portion 17, a suitable structuretherefor is shown and described in cgpending application, Serial No.107,987, filed on May 5, 1961, by Lauren W. Guth, now US. Patent3,077,200, and assigned to General Electric Company, assignee of thepresent invention.

In addition to the members described thus far, the washing means mayfurther include an upper rotatable water ejecting member 18. All threeof the members may be fed from a pumping assembly, generally indicatedby numeral 19, positioned at the very bottom 20 of tub 8 in a sumpformed therein. Assembly 19 receives its water through appropriate inletmeans 21 positioned in the sump 20, and is normally driven by a motor 22in the conventional manner. For instance, motor 22 may, when rotated inone direction, cause the pumping assembly 19 to force liquid up throughmembers 14, 16 and 13 for dish washing purposes and, when reversed, maycause the pumping assembly to pass liquid out through a drain (notshown).

It will be understood that with such a structure a dishwashing operationmay readily be provided by means of a conventional sequence controlassembly (not shown) which controls in suitable sequence the entry ofwater and washing materials, the spraying of the dishes and otherutensils to be washed, and removal of the water. In addition, for dryingthe dishes and other utensils after they have been cleansed, a suitableelectric heating element 23 may be provided in the conventional manner,with the intent being that element 23 also be under the control of thesequence control assembly so as to be energized at the end of thewashing operation and during the washing operation if so desired toassist in heating water.

The rack assembly 9 includes, as can be seen in FIG- URE 2, a lower rack24 and a pair of upper rack sections 25 and 26, rack sections 25 and 26being substantially similar to each other in the embodiment shown. Rack24 may be formed with appropriate fingers, such as those shown at 27,formed so as to receive dishes and retain them for a washing operation.The means included in the rack for retaining dishes may take any ofvarious forms. For instance, the structure shown is one appropriate formand is fully described and illustrated in application Serial No.173,228, filed on February 14, 1962, by Mitchell Nasser, now US. Patent3,084,702, and assigned to General Electric Company, assignee of thepresent invention.

Each of the upper rack sections may also be formed with appropriatefingers, such as those shown at 28, also for the purpose of retainingdishes. Conventionally, there is more space between the lower rack andthe bottom of the upper rack, as formed by sections 25 and 26, thanbetween the upper rack and the top surface 6 of enclosure 8. Because ofthis, larger dishes customarily are inserted in the lower rack, withsmaller dishes and glassware being included in the upper rack.

Experience has shown that, more often than not, the person loading themachine will be taking dishes off the table one place setting at a time.As a result, there will be the need to load one or two large dishes, oneor two small dishes, and glassware for each place setting. This meansthat some dishes from each place setting should be put into the lowerrack for best loading, and some of the dishes should be put into theupper rack. For this reason, it is highly desirable that, to facilitatethe loading operation, the upper and lower racks be accessible at thesame time. However, with the racks in their operative position withinthe enclosure 8, as shown in FIGURES 1 and 2, the upper rack preventsready access to the lower rack. It is to eliminate this difliculty thatthe structure now to be described is provided.

The lower rack is substantially rectangular, having a front 29, sides 30and 31 and a back 32. Each of the upper rack sections is alsorectangular; for instance, rack section 25 has a front 33, an inner side34, and outer side 35, and a back 36. Similarly, the rack section 26 hasa front 37, an inner side 38, an outer side 39, and a back (not shown)similarly arranged to the back 36 of rack section 25. As shown, theracks are preferably formed so as to utilize the full width of theenclosure 8 extending fully from side to side thereof. This means thatwhen the two upper rack sections 25 and 26 are poistioned with theirnear sides 34 and 38 adjacent each other, the additive 4 length of theirfronts 33 and 37 is substantially equal to the length of the front 29 oflower rack 24. In addition, where, as preferred, the enclosure 8 issubstantially rectangular in shape, the upper rack sections 25 and 26will each preferably form a rectangle which is one-half the size of therectangle formed by lower rack 24. Thus, together with the two upperrack sections, when they are adjacent each other in the position ofFIGURE 2, form a rectangle of substantially the same size as the lowerrack.

Each upper rack section is supported on the lower rack by means ofsuitably pivotable link members. Thus, with respect to rack section 25,there is an inner link member 40 which is pivoted at 41 to the lowerrack and at 42 to the upper rack. Similarly, a longer link 43 joins theouter side 35 of rack section 25 to the outer side 30 of rack 24. Link43 is pivotally connected to rack 24 at 44 and is pivotally connected torack section 25 at 45. The outer edge 46 of front 29 serves as a stopfor link 43. This insures that the links 40 and 43, as they cause racksection 25 to move to the left as viewed in FIGURE 2, will stop at thecorrect position so that rack section 25 will be substantiallyhorizontal and with its side 34 substantially at the mid point of thewidth of the dishwasher enclosure. It will further be observed thatwhile the member 43 is almost vertical in FIGURE 2, link 40 is pivotedto the left from its vertical position so that the rack section isstable in that position and will not, when the assembly is rolled outonto the door 7, have a tendency to move to the position shown in FIGURE3 except under the influence of an external force.

The same parts and the same relationship are provided for rack section26. The inner link 47 is pivotally connected to rack 24 at 48 and torack section 26 at 49. The outer link 56 is connected at its bottom 51to rack 24 and at its top 52 to rack section 26. The operation of links47 and 50 is exactly the same as the operation of links 43 and 40 exceptthat the rack section is moved to the right, as viewed in FIGURE 2, tobe in the operating position suitable for within enclosure 8. It will beseen that the rack sections 25 and 26 are stopped with their near sides34 and 38 adjacent each other and that, in that position, their fronts33 and 37 additively provide a length substantially equal to front 29 ofrack 24.

When the dishwasher is to be loaded, assembly 9 is rolled out onto door7 so as to be entirely outside enclosure 8, as previously described.Each of the rack sections 25 and 26 is then moved to the position shownin FIGURE 3. This may readily be achieved, for example, in the case ofrack section 25, by grasping it by handle portion 53 and pulling to theright. The rack section will move upward slightly as the links 43 and 40move to vertical positions and then will move back down to a horizontalposition again, as shown, with the proper stopping place being achievedby any suitable means, such as, for instance, a stop member 54 securedon rack section 25. Again, a stable position is achieved because thesupporting links 43 and 40 are substantially removed from the vertical.The same effect may be achieved as to rack section 26 by use of handleportion 55, with the rack section being pulled to the left until theinner link 47 strikes stop member 56.

It can be seen that with rack sections 25 and 26 in this position theinner sides 34 and 38 of the two rack sections are substantially spacedfrom each other. This leaves an entirely adequate amount of room toprovide easy access to all parts of the lower rack 24. With the racks inthis position then, dishes may be loaded into both the lower rack andthe upper rack at the same time, with the two upper rack sections beingproperly supported and in a stable position.

A further highly desirable feature provided by my invention is theprovision of outer links 43 and 50 as solid sheet-like members. This isshown in FIGURE 1, wherein the solid nature of the members can be seen,together with the fact that preferably a plurality of linkage points areprovided (points 45 and 44 for link member 43, for instance). Thisstructure for the outer links is helpful because, when dirty dishes areloaded into the upper rack sections when they are in the position ofFIGURE 3, it is important that waste food and liquid should not bespilled onto the floor. The solid members 43 and 50 act as guides toinsure that all food and liquid dropping from dishes placed in racksections 25 and 26 will either stick to the link members 43 and 50 untilit is washed away during a washing operation, or will drip down onto theinner surface of the door 7; this, of course, forms one wall of theenclosure during washing operations and is cleaned during suchoperations. In this manner the members which permit the movement of theupper rack sections so as to let both upper and lower racks be loaded atonce also insure that there will be no dripping of food from the upperrack onto the floor.

It will, of course, be clear that, while the embodiment of FIGURES 1, 2and 3, in which both upper rack sections are movable between twopositions and in which they are movable sideways relative to the frontof the machine, has been shown, other forms of my invention arepossible, and a second embodiment is shown in FIG- URE 4, in which thesame numerals are used as before where the parts are the same.

In FIGURE 4, there are two upper rack sections 60 and 61 provided, withsection 61 being in front of section 60 as the assembly 9 is rolled outonto the door 7 of the dishwasher. Section 60 is rigidly mounted onsupports 62 and 63 extending upwardly from the lower rack 24. Frontsection 61 is, however, supported by linkage members 64 and 65. Member64 extends upwardly from pivotal engagement at 66 with rack 24 topivotal engagement at 67 with rack section 61. In the same fashion, link65 is pivotally joined at 68 to rack 24 and at 69 to rack section 61. Inthe position shown in broken lines, the two rack sections 60 and 61 areadjacent each other so as to be directly superposed over the lower rack24, forming in effect a single upper rack as before.

When access to the lower rack is desired at the same time as access tothe upper rack sections, the forward rack section 61 is pivotedoutwardly until it reaches the position shown in solid outline. In thisposition, it can be seen that there is ready access between the twoupper rack sections 60 and 61 to the lower rack 24, at the same timethat both upper rack sections are accessible also.

It can also be seen that link member 65, which is similarly formed tolink members 43 and 59 in that it is an imperforate sheet extendingentirely along the front of rack section 61, serves as before as a meansof preventing dripping of foodstuffs onto the fioor, and for guidingsuch foodstuffs onto the door 7. Also, as before, suitable stop meansmay be provided for causing the rack section 61 to stop in the positionsdesired, and the links may be arranged so that at least one is in anovercenter position in each position of the rack section.

While I have shown and described particular embodiments of my invention,I do not desire my invention to be limited to the precise constructionsdisclosed, and I therefore intend by the appended claims to cover allmodifications which fall within the true spirit and scope of myinvention.

What I claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the UnitedStates is:

1. A washing machine comprising:

(a) a washing enclosure having an access opening formed at the frontthereof;

(b) a closure member for said access opening pivotable about its loweredge between a substantially vertical closing position and asubstantially horizontal open position; and

(c) a rack assembly for supporting articles to be washed positioned insaid enclosure and mounted on guide means for substantially horizontalmovement completely out through said access opening, said rack assemblyincluding: a lower rack having two sides, a front, and a back forming asubstantially horizontal rectangle; a pair of upper rack sectionspositioned side by side, each said upper rack section having sides, afront and a back forming substantially horizontal rectangles, the frontsof said upper rack sections being additively substantially equal inlength to the front of said lower rack when said upper rack sections arepositioned with their near sides adjacent each other; and linkage meanspivotally securing each of said upper rack sections to said lower rackin one of two positions, said upper rack sec: tions being positioneddirectly over and spaced from said lower rack with their near sidesadjacent and with their fronts forming a line substantially verticallyabove the front of said lower rack in one of said positions, said upperrack sections having their near sides remote from each other so thatthey are spaced apart and spaced from said lower rack in the other ofsaid positions thereby to make said lower rack accessible.

2. The washing machine defined in claim 1 wherein said upper racksections together form a rectangle equal in size to the rectangle ofsaid lower rack.

3. The washing machine defined in claim 2 wherein said upper racksections are equal to each other in size.

4. A washing machine comprising:

(a) a washing enclosure having an access opening formed at the frontthereof;

(b) a closure member for said access opening pivotable about its loweredge between a substantially vertical closing position and asubstantially horizontal open position; and

(c) a rack assembly for supporting articles to be washed positioned insaid enclosure and mounted on guide means for substantially horizontalmovement completely out through said access opening, said rack assemblyincluding: a lower rack having two sides, a front, and a back forming asubstantially horizontal rectangle; a pair of upper rack sectionspositioned side by side, each said upper rack section having sides, afront and a back forming substantially horizontal rectangles, the frontsof said upper rack sections being additively substantially equal inlength to the front of said lower rack when said upper rack sections arepositioned with their near sides adjacent each other; and linkage meanspivotally securing each of said upper rack sections to said lower rackin one of two positions, said linkage means for each said upper racksection including an inner link and an outer link, at least one of saidlinks being substantially over-center in a first direction in one ofsaid two positions, at least one of said links being substantiallyover-center in the other direction in the other of said two positionsthereby to insure that said upper rack section is stably positioned ineach of said positions, said upper rack sections being positioneddirectly over and spaced from said lower rack with their near sidesadjacent and with their fronts forming a line substantially verticallyabove the front of said lower rack in one of said positions, said upperrack sections having their near sides remote from each other so thatthey are spaced apart and spaced from said lower rack in the other ofsaid positions thereby to make said lower rack accessible.

5. A washing machine comprising:

(a) a washing enclosure having an access opening formed at the frontthereof;

(b) a closure member for said access opening pivotable about its loweredge between a substantially vertical closing position and asubstantially horizontal open position; and

(c) a rack assembly for supporting articles to be washed having a firstposition in said enclosure and mounted for substantially horizontalmovement out through said access opening to a second position over saidclosure member in its open position, said rack assembly including: alower rack; a pair of upper rack sections forming one complete upperrack when said upper rack sections are positioned adjacent each other;and linkage means pivotally securing at least one of said upper racksections to said lower rack in one of two positions, said upper racksections being positioned directly over said lower rack and adjacenteach other so as to form essentially one complete upper rack in one ofsaid positions of said one rack section, said upper rack sections beingremote from each other so that they are spaced apart over said lowerrack in the other of said positions of said one rack section thereby tomake said lower rack accessible, said linkage means for said one upperrack section including an inner link relatively close to said other racksection and an outer link remote from said other rack section, at leastone of said links being substantially over center in a first directionin one of said two positions of said one rack section, at least one ofsaid links being substantially over center in the other direction in theother of said two positions of said one rack section thereby to insurethat said one rack section is stably positioned in each of saidpositions, said outer link being formed as a substantially imperforateplate member extending entirely along the side of said one rack sectionremote from said other rack section thereby to form a guide from saidone upper rack section down to said closure member for drippings fromsaid one upper rack section when said one upper rack section is in itssaid other position.

6. The washing machine defined in claim 5 wherein said upper racksections are positioned one in front of the other, and said onepivotally secured rack section is in front of the other of said racksections, said one rack section being pivotally movable forward to itssaid other position.

7. A washing machine comprising:

(a) a washing enclosure having an access opening formed at the frontthereof;

(b) a closure member for said access opening pivotable about its loweredge between a substantially vertical closing position and asubstantially horizontal open position; and

(c) a rack assembly for supporting articles to be washed positioned insaid enclosure and mounted for substantially horizontal movement outthrough said access opening, said rack assembly including: a lower rackhaving two sides, a front, and a back forming a substantially horizontalrectangle; a pair of upper rack sections positioned side-by-side, eachsaid upper rack section having sides, a front and a back formingsubstantially horizontal rectangles, the fronts of said upper racksections being additively substantially equal in length to the front ofsaid lower rack when said upper rack sections are positioned with theirnear sides adjacent each other; and linkage means pivotally securingeach of said upper rack sections to said lower rack in one of twopositions, said linkage means for each said upper rack section includingan inner link and an outer link, at least one of said links beingsubstantially overcenter in a first direction in one of said twopositions, at least one of said links being substantially overcenter inthe other direction in the other of said two positions thereby to insurethat said upper rack section is stably positioned in each of saidpositions, said upper rack sections being positioned directly over saidlower rack with their near sides adjacent and with their fronts forminga line substantially vertically above the front of said lower rack inone of said positions, said upper rack sections having their near sidesremote from each other so that they are spaced apart over said lowerrack in the other of said positions thereby to make said lower rackaccessible, each said outer link connecting said lower rack to the outerside of each said upper rack section, each of said outer links beingformed as a substantially imperforate plate member extending from thefront to the back of said upper rack sections thereby to form a guidefrom said upper rack sections down to said closure member for drippingsfrom said upper rack sections when said upper rack sections are in saidother of said positions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,302,602 Cooper Nov. 17, 1942 2,598,976 Cox June 3, 1952 2,681,843Walker June 22, 1954 2,745,707 Sebens May 15, 1956 3,098,685 Stiner July23, 1963

1. A WASHING MACHINE COMPRISING: (A) A WASHING ENCLOSURE HAVING ANACCESS OPENING FORMED AT THE FRONT THEREOF; (B) A CLOSURE MEMBER FORSAID ACCESS OPENING PIVOTABLE ABOUT ITS LOWER EDGE BETWEEN ASUBSTANTIALLY VERTICAL CLOSING POSITION AND A SUBSTANTIALLY HORIZONTALOPEN POSITION; AND